Must Be A Weasley
by BiscuitsForPotter
Summary: It's Teddy Lupin's 4th birthday, and Draco has been dragged along to the festivities by his fiancee. Surely, there couldn't be a worse way to spend his Saturday. A birthday fic for QuinTalon79.


**This cute little oneshot was born out of a discussion from the SD Smut Fest chat room, and it morphed into this adorable little story. Shortly the birth of this plunny, I found out that Dramione-writer-newbie QuinTalon79's birthday was coming up, and that she loves fluff. This is for you! Happy Birthday!**

**Thanks to Perilous Circumstance for being a fantastic beta!**

***Extra Note* I know that Draco and Teddy are technically cousins, but because of their age difference, I have decided to give them more of an uncle/nephew relationship.**

* * *

Draco couldn't believe he had agreed to go to a birthday for a toddler. He liked a good party, sure; the champagne, the political possibilities, and the gorgeous dresses his woman liked to wear…

Yeah. The dresses were definitely his favorite part.

But this kind of party didn't have any alcohol. There was no chance of chatting up a member of the Wizengamot here. And his lovely fiancée, while still gorgeous on her own, was wearing jeans.

The cherry on top?

The party was at the Burrow. Just the thought of that many Weasleys in one place practically gave him hives.

It was Teddy Lupin's fourth birthday today, and Hermione had managed to sweet talk him into attending the little boy's party. Of course, he would have much preferred to spend his Saturday afternoon de-stressing on his broom or reading the new book on the detailed use of venom in potions he had bought this past Wednesday. But no. Hermione had informed him a week ago that he would be attending the party.

Draco grimaced as he and Hermione arrived by Floo into the Weasley's sitting room. It was already far too crowded for his taste. Everywhere he looked, he saw red hair. The parents. Weaslette. The twinless wonder. The cool, older ones. And Percy. Draco made a face.

"Behave," Hermione chided as she stepped forward, a brightly-wrapped gift in her hands.

"Hermione! Draco! We're so delighted to have you," Aunt Andromeda called as she made her way over to greet them. They exchanged pleasantries as Draco soaked in the hellscape he would be inhabiting for the next couple hours.

Brightly-coloured streamers and balloons covered the sitting room. Someone had charmed the decorations to change color upon request. Little Victoire sat in her father's lap and held a balloon in her pudgy hands, squawking out colors and then giggling as it shifted at her command.

"Draco, go put Teddy's gift with the others," Hermione requested. "I'm going to see if I can help in the kitchen."

"Don't leave me alone with this lot," Draco whined. The gift table stood behind the largest gaggle of Weasley men. He wanted to avoid their jabs and forced small talk as much as possible, and this errand would put him at a direct risk.

"And here I thought Victoire was the youngest one here. Stop being a baby and just talk with them." Hermione gave him a little shove and abandoned him for the company of Aunt Andromeda and Mrs. Weasley.

"Uncle Draco, is that for me?" A turquoise-haired Teddy Lupin came racing through the crowd, his eyes glittering when he caught sight of the present. He was carrying a cup of pumpkin juice, the contents sloshing dangerously inside.

"Sure is. Want to help me out and put it on the gift table with the others?" The eager boy would never pass up an opportunity to be helpful, surely.

Teddy's eyes sparkled as he held out his hands, though his cup tilted slightly, and a drop dripped onto the carpet.

"Teddy, here. Let me hold this for you. You don't want to spill any more of it." Draco rescued the cup and exchanged it for the gift, which Teddy immediately help up to his ear and shook. When it made no sound, Teddy scrunched his nose up momentarily in frustration before shrugging and skipping off to do his uncle's work for him.

Draco couldn't help the smirk that crept onto his face.

Cup of juice still in hand, Draco made his way over to an armchair that had been shoved into a corner of the room. Perhaps if he sat very still, no one would approach him. If he kept to himself, he could surely get through this birthday party.

No sooner had he settled into the cushion when a stampede of toddlers scampered into the sitting room, screaming and laughing. They jumped on the sofa and ran in circles while the adults stood nearby, looks of amused adoration in their eyes.

Was no one going to control this horde? They were definitely going to break something if no one intervened.

"Stop looking so worried, Draco," Ginny admonished, leaning against the wall beside his corner armchair. "This house has seen more than its fair share of wild kids."

"I can't believe I'm spending my precious Saturday surrounded by toddlers," he lamented, rubbing his temples.

"These are hardly toddlers, Draco. Teddy speaks in full sentences and he hardly drools anymore as far as I know."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Toddler, kid, same difference."

"Actually, I would think that's something you'll want to be able to differentiate before you and Hermione produce an _heir_." She emphasized the last word with a smirk.

Draco's eyes went wide. He shot Ginny a nasty look, but she seemed to have shifted her attention back to the zoo, an air of nonchalance around her.

"Uncle Draco! Look what I found!"

He turned his head just in time to see a blur of turquoise hurtling toward him, a toy of some kind in his hand. Just as the little boy extended his arm to show the dragon figure, he tripped on some invisible force and went flying right into his uncle. As he crashed, the cup tipped over onto his chest.

Draco now had a lapful of Teddy Lupin and a giant, orange pumpkin juice stain dripping all over his shirt. The liquid felt cold and heavy as it stuck to his chest. He shuddered.

All eyes in the room turned to face him, chatter dying away instantly. Aunt Andromeda, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley even poked their heads around the corner. You could have heard a bowtruckle scurry across the floor. So much for staying invisible.

Anger bubbled in his stomach for a moment, but when he looked down at a tearful Teddy, he did his best to quash his annoyance.

Teddy burst into tears as he backed away from his uncle, looking as though he had spilled poison rather than juice. The birthday boy looked truly pathetic, face splotchy and snot streaming from his nose freely.

Oh, Merlin. The last thing he wanted to be held responsible for was making the boy cry at his own birthday party.

"It's all right, Teddy. No harm done. I'm all right. See?" Draco pointed his wand at his chest, saying, _"Scourgify!"_ before turning to face his nephew once more.

Instead of abating, the kid's wails increased tenfold.

Draco balked in confusion, looking up to see what on earth he had done now.

"Erm, Draco?"

From off to his side, Ginny pointed back at his chest.

Glancing down, Draco saw that the juice had all been cleaned away, but the stain remained, colouring his light blue shirt an ugly shade of rust.

"Don't cry, Teddy. We'll get your uncle Draco sorted out." Bill had made his way over, his daughter no longer occupying his lap. He pulled Draco to his feet, leaning in and speaking in low tones, "Come on. I'm sure my mum's got some of our old things upstairs that'll do."

After a pat on the head, Teddy wiped his face and scurried back to his friends, who resumed their tromp around the house. Draco followed Bill past the dreaded crowd of Weasley men and around toward the stairs.

"You didn't do too badly back there," Bill chuckled as they made their way to some bedroom or closet. "Kids are hard to handle, even on the best of days. And Teddy's gone and inherited his mum's clumsiness, it seems. Poor lad."

"Was my cousin clumsy, then?"

"Oh yeah. Knocked things over all the time. Nearly failed the stealth portion of Auror training, so I've been told."

Draco found that he didn't mind talking to Bill too much. He _was_ one of the cooler Weasley siblings, to be fair. Hell, he even made fatherhood seem sort of cool with his fang earring and all. Maybe he could…Draco's stomach swooped as he tried to climb an additional step that wasn't there. His foot only found air as he stumbled forward.

"Watch your step," Bill cried as Draco took a spill on the top step. Cursing, the blonde rubbed his knees as he stood up.

"You sure you didn't inherit clumsiness as well?"

Draco shot Bill a murderous look.

"Right, sorry. Let's get you something to wear so you don't have to walk around looking like Hagrid's pumpkin patch exploded all over you."

Bill rifled around a closet for a moment before extracting an old jumper. Giving it a shake, he handed it over. It was brown and a bit musty, but it would fit. Mumbling his thanks, Draco pulled it over his stained shirt and the two men traipsed back down stairs just in time for Aunt Andromeda to call everyone over for gift-opening.

Thankfully, Hermione had finished in the kitchen for now, and had settled on the floor, leaning against the sofa next to Harry. Draco sat on her other side, and he tried not to pay attention to the stares he had received upon his return. Everyone could probably smell the moth-repelling charm courtesy of his new outfit.

As a proud Malfoy, being dressed in a frumpy brown jumper was the among the last things he would be caught doing in public. But, he supposed, the Burrow didn't exactly count as public. No one in attendance today was someone who would want to ruffle his feathers in any way that actually mattered.

_Especially,_ Draco thought, _the one responsible for this mess_. Draco quirked a smile as Teddy pranced about with glee while his grandmother levitated the large pile of gifts over to the center of the room. Once everyone had settled and the children quieted down, the great opening frenzy began. Teddy tore at the wrappings, his expression brightening with each new toy and game.

When he opened Harry's present, a new, child-size broomstick, he raced into his godfather's arms, his hair turning jet black.

Draco and Hermione's present, a brightly-colored book entitled _A Young Witch and Wizard's Guide to the Silliest, Scariest, and Grossest Magical Creatures_, was a hit. Still rather abashed around Draco, Teddy avoided his uncle's arms and dove straight for his Aunt Hermione, his head changing to a curly chestnut colour. As the little boy nuzzled his fiancée, Draco felt a small warmth grow in his chest. Something about a small child that looked like his lovely Hermione made his insides ache.

Either that, or it was indigestion.

For each present he received, Teddy gave an enthusiastic hug and altered his appearance to mimic the gifter. The youngest guests seemed to enjoy Teddy's metamorphmagus abilities the most; they giggled like mad every time, their laughter renewed with each new shade. The pile of gifts dwindled until Teddy's last gift (a toy model of the Hogwarts Express) was opened, the giver properly thanked.

Mrs. Weasley stood and clapped her hands together. "Right, then, everyone. Let's move outside to the table for Teddy's grand feast!"

As various Weasleys and other guests began to shuffle toward the tent in the backyard, Draco hung back.

"Hey, Teddy. C'mere, will you?" he called toward the little boy, whose hair had turned back to turquoise. Teddy looked up from his pile of new toys and smiled sheepishly at his uncle.

"I'm really sorry, Uncle Draco," he mumbled, his eyes trained on his toes.

"No need, Ted. Accidents happen."

"But you looked real sad!" Teddy protested.

"Nah," Draco shook his head. "Between you and me, I just didn't want to look stupid in front of all these Weasleys. I don't exactly fit in."

Draco pointed to his platinum hair, and Teddy gave a soft, _"Oh."_

After offering a reassuring smile, he extended an arm. Teddy's eyes grew bright, and he looked as though he might sprint over, but just as he was about to take off, he stopped in his tracks. With far greater restraint than Draco would have thought possible, Teddy managed to walk over, only a slight skip in his step.

Draco knelt down to meet his nephew and settled the boy on his knee. He leaned in close, shooting a conspiratorial glance at the doorway where everyone had disappeared by this point.

"I was going to wait until next week, but…I actually have another present for you," Draco whispered, pulling a shrunken gift out of his trouser pocket. "Don't tell your aunt Hermione who it's from. She'll think it's too dangerous for you. Got it, Teddy?"

The boy nodded solemnly, eyeing the present, before looking up at him, his face filled with hope. Draco wasn't sure if he would ever get used to someone looking at him with pure adoration. When he enlarged the gift, Teddy's eyes darted back and forth between his uncle and the lumpy package. He seemed to wordlessly ask for permission.

"Go on," Draco encouraged, officially handing the present over.

Teddy ripped into it like a niffler in the Malfoy vaults at Gringotts. Silver paper flew everywhere, the crinkling noises filling the sitting room. When the paper had all floated to the ground and the sound died away, Draco was left with the sight of his nephew staring in awe at his new Junior Quidditch League uniform. Bright green and yellow with _Lupin_ stitched across the back, it was the exact sort of gift Draco had dreamed of receiving at Teddy's age. His father had refused to let him join the league in order to keep him away from riff-raff. Riff-raff like the Weasleys.

"Are you serious?" Teddy shrieked, jumping up. "Uncle Draco, is this really really real?"

"Sure is, Ted. I asked your aunt about it a couple months back and we've signed you up to start next week."

Teddy hopped up and down, clutching the uniform to his chest.

"Quidditch! Quidditch!" he cried, his voice growing louder with each repetition. Draco winced at the sudden increase in volume, but he found he didn't really mind. The kid was so damn happy. This reaction made him feel rather glad Hermione had dragged him to the party…even with the giant juice stain and the lumpy jumper.

Any sense of decorum lost, Teddy leapt into Draco's arms after a minute of enthusiastic bounding on the floor.

"You're the bestest uncle! The bestest bestest _bestest!_"

Draco scooped Teddy up in his arms and ruffled his turquoise hair. It immediately turned platinum.

"Look at that! Our hair matches. You're a mini Malfoy," Draco joked as Teddy latched himself onto his neck. At those words, though, Teddy leaned back, looking up with a confused expression on his face for a moment.

"Teddy! Draco! Where've you gone off to?" Aunt Andromeda called to them from the door to the garden. "Everyone's waiting and you know how these Weasleys are about their food!"

The moment his grandmother had called, Teddy gasped, his eyes going wide as saucers and his hair flying into a violent shade of flaming red. Yes, this boy would certainly always fit in with the Weasleys. Draco thought that his nephew must really love them dearly for his hair to change automatically at their mention. His nephew buried his face into the jumper, clutching the fabric with his little fists.

Adjusting the boy on his hip, he carried a suddenly timid Teddy out to the garden, where everyone was seated around a large, colourfully-set table. As they emerged into the bright March sunlight, all the chatter seemed to die away.

Draco blinked. What was going on? Were they about to start serenading Teddy? Surely not without the candles on the cake yet…

It was rather odd, though. Several guests seemed to have caught a case of the giggles. They stifled laughter behind hands as though caught in the act of something wrong. What on earth was so funny? And why the need to mask it?

Maybe Teddy looked particularly silly with red hair? That had to be it. He chanced a glance at the four-year-old to find his hair had returned to turquoise. Instead of his hair, his cheeks were aflame now. That could only mean he was…embarrassed? By what?

The giggling at the table had grown as people found it harder and harder to stifle, his own fiancée included. She now sat, tears of mirth silently pouring down her face as she clutched her stomach.

Well, if it wasn't Teddy that everyone was laughing at, then…? No…

George Weasley chose that exact moment to blast a single laugh across the garden. That seemed to be a signal of some sort, because within moments, the entire table burst into fits of strong laughter.

"Nice hair, Malfoy!" Ron guffawed from amongst the hysterical crowd. Draco gasped, setting Teddy down with rather more force than he meant to, his hands immediately flying to his head. In a panic, he searched for his fiancée. She sat snugly between Harry and Ron, an amused look splashed across her face. Oh, gods…what had happened to his hair? And how? He carded his hands through his hair several times as if he could figure out what was going on by his sense of touch.

"Sorry, Uncle Draco…" A tiny voice mumbled from around his legs. Confused, Draco knelt down.

"What do you mean, sorry?" he asked Teddy, whose face now resembled a tomato. "What happened to my hair?"

"I didn't mean to…you just…you seemed so sad about not fitting in that I wanted to help. I just thought about it and the next thing I knew, your hair changed. Looks just like the rest of the family now!"

The entire table had stopped laughing by now and were listening with bated breath as Teddy finished his account. You could have heard a pin drop.

"Teddy," Draco spoke slowly, his voice trembling with excitement. "Forget about how I feel about my hair. You just – you just did magic!"

Teddy looked up, sadness fading to glee as his jaw dropped in disbelief.

"I did…magic?"

Draco hugged the boy to his chest. "You did! You know what that means?"

"What?"

Draco leaned into his nephew and whispered as if it was some great secret, "You get to go to Hogwarts. Just like me and your Uncle Aunt Hermione, your Uncle Harry, your Grandmother, and…and your mummy and daddy."

Teddy gave a whoop and leapt into the air. Within moments, the entire table full of guests had made their way over to congratulate the lad. He beamed as everyone took turns giving him hugs. Mrs. Weasley smothered him with kisses (which he responded to by making a face) and Harry lifted him up onto his shoulders to carry him to the head of the table. Plopped into his chair and a brightly-coloured birthday hat strapped to his head, Teddy looked about as well-loved as a little boy could be on his birthday.

As for Draco, he sidled over to the table and settled next to Hermione. She cuddled into his side, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"So," she asked as she spooned food onto his plate, "Did that qualify as something worth missing out on your solitary Saturday activities for?"

Draco chuckled. "Yeah yeah…I'm only going to say this once, so you better listen well: thanks for making me come. Seeing Teddy doing magic for the first time was, well…magical. I can't wait until our kids show their first signs of magic."

A smile tugged at Hermione's lips as she listed to him speak. "_Our kids_…I like the sound of that, Mr. Malfoy."

He elbowed her in the ribs affectionately and tucked into his plate. A pleasant hum grew as everyone made small talk and ate their birthday luncheon.

"But just so you know," Hermione said between bites, "I much prefer you with your usual blonde hair. Red just isn't your colour." She pulled a hand mirror from her bag and handed it to him. Flipping it open, Draco jumped when he saw his own reflection. Hermione was right. He looked fairly hideous with flaming red hair. And that was saying something, as he was quite handsome to begin with, if he did say so himself.

Ah, well. He'd change it back when he got home…if nothing else, he could go to a salon. A child's first sign of magic was well worth any price.

"Oi, Malfoy. I just thought of something," Harry piped up from his other side.

"What's that, Potter?"

Harry adjusted his body to face him. "Oh, just something you said to Ron years ago on our very first day at Hogwarts."

Draco scrunched his eyebrows. "What on earth did I say eleven years ago?"

"Red hair…"

Harry pointed to his head.

"…hand-me-down robes…"

He reached out and pinched the sleeve of the frumpy brown jumper.

"Must be a Weasley."

Hermione snickered from his left as Harry smirked.

Draco just rolled his eyes.

"_Ha ha_. I was an arse as a kid. I get it. Go ahead and enjoy your sweet irony, you two." Draco dug into his sandwich as his fiancée and her best friend probably shared some happily exasperated look above him. As he chewed, he looked around at all the other guests sitting around the table. This jolly bunch had really rallied around little Teddy ever since the end of the war and had done their best to make sure he had a normal, happy childhood. Sure, he'd contributed small things like that Quidditch uniform, but he was nowhere near close to Teddy's biggest supporter.

Seeing Teddy now, he'd say they had succeeded beyond anyone's expectations. And that success was largely due to this large, boisterous, overly-invasive, uncouth, loving family.

Draco blew a red strand of hair from his face and plucked at his jumper.

To be considered a Weasley?

There were far worse things.

* * *

**Happy Birthday, QuinTalon79!**


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